Body Preservation

Julie Virkus, who rewrote much of the Minnesota record book in the 55–59 division last year before turning 60 in September, credits some of her success to a philosophy she calls the "BPP" -- the Body Preservation Plan. This plan usually calls for just three or four days a week of running and lots of cross-training.

Befitting her Minneapolis home, one of her favorite cross-training activities is skiing. "Instead of bemoaning the fact that we have cold, ice and snow here in Minnesota during the winter months, I embrace Nordic skiing," says Virkus. "It's a great cardio workout and cross-training activity."

With age has come the realization that she can no longer run every day. Her cross-training also includes biking, swimming, aqua jogging, weight training and yoga. The variation helps Virkus stay motivated, rested and healthy. "When I run," she says, "I focus on the important components of speed, power or distance."

Giving up the marathon has been another concession to her BPP, not because she can't compete successfully at the distance but because she feels it would require more mileage than the 30–35 a week she's now logging. To Virkus, it's a matter of risk and reward -- she'd rather be able to run fewer, slower miles while enjoying the sport injury-free than to push to higher mileage and risk getting hurt.

A retired middle school Spanish and French teacher, Virkus graduated from St. Cloud State University in 1974, when teaching jobs were scarce. She took some classes to obtain a coaching certificate, including one in track and field. "One of the requirements was to run a mile a day," she says. "I couldn't believe anyone could run a whole mile." Encouraged by her husband, Gus, she was up to running 3 miles by the end of the year. But family responsibilities, including two daughters, as well as her eventual teaching job, prevented her from really getting serious about the sport. Most of her personal bests were not set until her late 40s, including a 40:35 10K and a 3:14:33 marathon. At that time, she was putting in 45–50 miles a week.

During the winter months, Virkus is on skis three or four days a week, but she still tries to get in 25 miles of running. "But no intensity," she says. "In the early spring, when skiing is over, it does take a week or two to get my running legs back, but it is not a big issue. They come back rather quickly."

Aware that biking and swimming can also conflict with "running legs," Virkus avoids those activities in the days immediately before a race. "I use swimming as an active recovery day and also for some upper body strength work," she says. "I swim one and a half to two miles, and I feel the workout more in my upper body than in my legs."

While some people swim a few laps at a leisurely stroke and call it a workout, Virkus says that her swimming is done mostly with a group and often involves intense intervals of 100 meters. Biking is also an active recovery day from running. "It depends on the distance and intensity that I bike as to whether or not my legs are 'trashed' the next day," she says. When she rides hard or long, she says she'll try to run through the soreness the day after.

During the running season, Virkus focuses her weight training on her legs, using a series of glute-and hamstring-strengthening exercises prescribed by a physical therapist and chiropractor. She uses an exercise ball for some drills and incorporates hamstring curls and squats. In November, before ski season, Virkus also does upper-body weight training.

While many find treadmill running a respite from the cold of winter, Virkus isn't one of them. "I think I would rather have a root canal," she says, "than run on the treadmill."

TRAINING REGIMEN

Third and second week before the 2012 Gary Bjorklund Half Marathon (1:34:20)

Monday: 2.5-mile warm-up, two sets of 4 × 500m (run the first 400m @ 92–93 sec., all-out on the last 100m, 400m jog between 500s, full recovery before second set of 500s), 2.5-mile cool-down

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